World Bank approves $611m to assist Nigeria’s out-of-school children

The World Bank has approved $611 million to support the Nigeria government in tackling the rising statistics of out-of-school children, who are currently put at about 10.5 million.

The World Bank Education Specialist and Consultant, Adebayo Solomon, stated this in Abuja at the 2017/2018 annual school census exercise.

The exercise will run across the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Solomon said the step by the World Bank was to support the Federal and state governments in their efforts to foster inclusion in education, which is in consonance with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan of the Federal Government.

He noted that the funds would be provided through the Better Education Service Delivery for All Programme, which was aimed at bringing out-of-school children into the classrooms.

He said, “We are working with the National Bureau of Statistics to ensure that some data is verified. Immediately there is verification, each school will collect $30 dollars, and each state government will collect $100,000.”

The Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, who inaugurated the census exercise in Abuja, said the data was necessary for the delivery of quality and all-inclusive education in the country.

Adamu explained that there would be simultaneous commencement of enumeration of all schools, pupils, teachers and facilities in the basic and post-basic school levels in 36 states and the FCT.

The minister decried the failure of some state governments, agencies of government and private schools to comply effectively with the enumeration exercise in the previous years, urging them to diligently adhere to the guidelines in the present year.

He said, “I will also urge for cooperation and full participation of the military, para-military and private schools, both registered and unregistered, almajiri centres, and integrated Koranic schools in this exercise so that we can explore and improve all school environments in order to begin to solve the problem of out-of-school children.”